LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Fluorine
built 193 days ago
Fluorine is a pale, greenish-yellow gas, slightly heavier than air, poisonous, corrosive, and of penetrating and disagreeable odour. Its atomic weight is 18.998. Fluorine melts at -219.61° C (-363.30° F), boils at -188.13° C (-306.63° F), and has a relative density of 1.51 in its liquid state at its boiling point. It is the most chemically active of the non-metallic elements. It combines directly with most elements and indirectly with nitrogen, chlorine, and oxygen. Nearly all compounds are decomposed by fluorine to form fluorides that are among the most stable of all chemical compounds.
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Fluorine is the lightest member of the halogen family, elements in Group 17 (VIIA) of the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how elements are related to one another. These include chlorine, bromine, iodine, and astatine. Fluorine is the most active chemical element, reacting with virtually every element. It even reacts with the noble gases at high temperatures and pressures. The noble gases, or Group 18 (VIIIA)... known as the inert gases, generally do not react with other elements.
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Fluorine compounds have many applications. The chlorofluorocarbons, odourless and non-poisonous liquids or gases such as freon, are used as a dispersing agent in aerosol sprays and as a refrigerant. In 1974... some scientists suggested that these chemicals reached the stratosphere and were destroying the Earth's ozone layer. With confirmation of these findings by the late 1980s, the production of these chemicals began to be phased out (see Environment). Another chemical, Teflon, a fluorine plastic that is very resistant to most chemical action, is widely used to make components in the car industry, and is also used as a coating on the inner surface of frying pans and other kitchen utensils to reduce the need for fat in cooking. Many organic fluorine compounds developed during World War II showed extensive commercial potential.
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Fluorine compounds have many applications. The chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), odorless and nonpoisonous liquids or gases such as Freon, are used as a dispersing agent in aerosol sprays and as a refrigerant. In 1974... it was suggested that these chemicals reached the stratosphere and were destroying the earth'sOZONE LAYER, (q.v.). With confirmation of these findings by the late 1980s, the production of these chemicals began to be phased out. After 1995 the U.S. and many European countries banned the manufacture and use of CFCs due to their dangerous effects on the ENVIRONMENT, (q.v.). Another chemical, Teflon, a fluorine plastic that is very resistant to most chemical action, is widely used to make such products as motor gaskets and dashboard accessories in the automobile industry.
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Fluorine and its compounds are used in producing uranium (from the hexafluoride) and more than 100 commercial fluorochemicals, including many well-known high-temperature plastics. Hydrofluoric acid is extensively used for etching the glass of light bulbs, etc. Fluorochlorohydrocarbons have been extensively used in air conditioning and refrigeration. However, in recent years the U.S. and other countries have been phasing out ozone-depleting substances, such as these. It has been suggested that fluorine might be substituted for hydrogen wherever it occurs in organic compounds, which could lead to an astronomical number of new fluorine compounds. The presence of fluorine as a soluble fluoride in drinking water to the extent of 2 ppm may cause mottled enamel in teeth, when used by children acquiring permanent teeth; in smaller amounts... fluorides are said to be beneficial and used in water supplies to prevent dental cavities.
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Fluorine-containing compounds are used to increase the fluidity of melts and slags in the glass and ceramic industries. Fluorspar (calcium fluoride) is introduced into the blast furnace to reduce the viscosity of the slag in the metallurgy of iron. Cryolite, Na2AlF6, is used to form the electrolyte in the metallurgy of aluminum. Aluminum oxide is dissolved in this electrolyte, and the metal is reduced electrically from the melt. The use of halocarbons containing fluorine as refrigerants was patented in 1930, and these volatile and stable compounds found a market in aerosol propellants as well as in refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. However, use of fluorocarbons as propellants has declined sharply because of concern over their possible damage to the ozone layer of the atmosphere.
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Fluorine